Dating the Indian Diaspora in the US

The Indian American community in the United States is over a million strong

This large number has grown from small beginnings and an expansion of immigration within the last thirty years.

The first Indian immigrant entered the United States in 1790 as a maritime worker, as part of the early commerce connections between India and the U.S. After that, the next noticeable groups of Indians came to the west- coast of the United States, in the state of Washington, entering from Canada. These early twentieth century immigrants were largely agricultural workers. In the early 1920s only about five thousand Indians resided in the Unites States. At the time Indians were denied citizenship and the right to own land in many states. After World War 11, the U.S. desire for more professionals, particularly doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs, facilitated the immigration ofIndians. In 1946, the Indian Citizenship Bill, co-sponsored in a bipartisan effort of 3Congressmen Emmanuel Celler and Clare Booth Luce, legalized the ability ofIndian immigrants to seek naturalization and granted India a token quota of one hundred immigrants annually. When the Immigration Act of 1965 lifted immigrant quotas that had been in place for more than fifty years, the entry of Indians into the United States increased during the late 1960s and ‘70s.

In 1960, estimates showed only five thousand Indians in the United States, but by 1970, this population had grown to approximately three hundred and fifty thousand. The 1990 U.S. Cens us records the number of Indian-Americans at 815, 447, and between the 1980 and 1990 Census, the annual growth rate of the community was 8.5 percent. According to the estimate of the Population Reference Bureau, the Indian American population has grown by 103% in 1980-90, a growth rate second only to the Chinese among Asian American ethnic groups, and by 55% in 1990-97, second only to the Vietnamese. As a result the Indian American population numbered 1.215m in 1997, making it the third largest Asian American ethnic group in the US, after the Chinese and the Filipino Americans, outstripping the Japanese.

The Indian American community in the United States has experienced a remarkable transformation from its modest beginnings.

The U.S. Census bureau defines Indian-Americans as "Asian Indians." When households fill out the census they define themselves as Asian Indians, a sub-category of the Asian or Pacific Islander group People who choose to write in more specific categories, such as Gujarati or Sikh, are still classified as Asian Indians. People are classified as Asian Indians if they are of Asian Indian origin or if they are of Asian Indian race, or if they are foreign born people from India.

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the national census count of 1990 differed from the true population by less than two percent, which means that their statistics about the size of the Indian American population arequite accurate. Using this margin of error, the Indian American community in 1990 would, at its highest count be approximately 831,755 people. This means that perhaps, with the highest estimates, around 15,000 Indian- Americans were left out of the census. In estimating this undercount, the Census Bureau uses 4 birth and death records, immigration records and previous censuses to estimate the true population. It also conducts special surveys by taking scientific samples of census blocks and re-interviewing them independently of the census enumeration to determine accuracy.

It is, however, difficult to accuratelyestimate the undercount of Indian-Americans because adequate records on this segment of the population have notexisted for a long period of time. Below are some points about the achievements of Indian Americans compiled from indianembassy.org.

There are now more than 1.7 million peoples of Indian origin in America.

They reflect the multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual society ofIndia.

Indian Americans are represented in many fields including academics and entrepreneurs, doctors and lawyers, engineers and financiers.

Based on the count of the 2000 Census, there are 1.7 million people in the US who identify themselvesas Asian Indians or Indian Americans -- first-and second-generation immigrants or those whose ancestors migrated tothe US from India.

More than 87% of Indians in America have completed high school while atleast 62% have some college education.

As much as 58% of Indian Americans over the age of 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

High levels of education have also enabled Indian Americans to become a productive segment of the U. S. population, with 72.3% participating in the work force.

Of these work force participants, 43.6% are employed in managerial and professional specialties.

Technical, sales, and administrative support occupations constitute another 33.2% of the work force.

The remaining 23.3% of the population works in other areas, such as operators, fabricators, laborers and precision production.

More than 5,000 Indian Americans today serve as faculty members in institutions of higher education

About 300,000 Indian Americans work in technology firms in California’s Silicon Valley.

They account for more than 15% of high-tech startups in that region. The median income of Indian Americans in that region is estimated to be $125,000 (average $200,000) a year, in the U.S.

According to University of California, Berkeley Study, about one-third ofthe engineers in Silicon Valley are of Indian descent, while 7% of valley high-tech firms are led by Indian CEOs

The estimated annual buying power of Indian Americans in the United States is around $ 20 billion